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What’s a “processing” card transaction?

Contrary to traditional banks, Qonto shows you transactions in real-time. This implies that Qonto shows you all transactions, including those that are hidden in the background for other banks.

When you pay with your Qonto card, the merchant performs an authorization request, in order to check that you have the required funds on your account. This authorization request is generally for the same amount as your purchase (gas stations aside), and show up in your account history as a “processing” transaction.

The “processing” label will disappear once the transaction is finalized, 2 or 3 days after your payment on average.

In some cases, the amount of a “processing” card transaction can change over time: if you don’t recall the amount of a “processing” transaction, find here main cases:

A balance check

A merchant (automated gas station, hotel, car rental, etc.) can perform an authorization request to your bank, to ensure that your balance includes sufficient funds to cover the amount you’re likely to pay at the delivery of their service. These requests can remain labelled as “processing” in your account history for up to 11 days, before getting cleared.

A card verification

A merchant (online retailer, ride-sharing app, etc.) can perform an authorization request to your bank (generally of an amount inferior to €1), to ensure that your card is valid. These requests can remain labelled as “processing” in your account history for up to 11 days, before getting cleared.

The remaining part of a prior authorization request

Sometimes, the amount of an authorization request can be higher than the amount you end up paying. For example, a hotel can perform an authorization request for an amount corresponding to a 3-nights stay, while you end up staying and paying for just 1 night. In some of these cases, a remaining authorization request (corresponding to the difference between the amount authorized in the first place, and the amount you paid) can remain on your account for up to 11 days, before getting cleared.